Rishi Sunak agrees deal with EU over Brexit Northern Ireland protocol

theguardian.com:

Rishi Sunak has sealed a deal with the EU to end the dispute over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol, a senior government source has said.

The agreement is the culmination of four months of intense negotiations led on the UK side by Sunak along with James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, and the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris.

The deal is due to be outlined by prime minister and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, on Monday afternoon. “An agreement has been reached. The deal is done,” the source said.

But Sunak will be concerned about possible resistance from the hardline pro-Brexit camp in the European Research Group and the Democratic Unionist party, who want the protocol scrapped altogether.

At the heart of the revised pact are three main issues: physical controls and checks on trade to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, the role of the European court of justice and the application of EU law and the place of Northern Ireland in the UK’s internal market.

It is understood that the majority of controls and checks will disappear on goods destined to remain in Northern Ireland and the role of the ECJ as the ultimate arbiter of disputes will be removed.

The EU will no longer have the right to automatically launch infraction proceedings and Stormont ministers will be given sight of new EU laws as they are drafted.

This is based on a proposal around Norway’s relationship with the EU made by the former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain and may enable the EU to disapply new laws in Northern Ireland if objected by Stormont representatives.

A deal to allow Westminster, not Brussels, to set VAT and state aid is also expected.

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